Poll: Who was the better Tiger: DM or Jirov?

I made this thread as a tribute to these two punchers, who did not only share the same moniker. Both men started their careers as successful amateurs in eastern Europe. They both were true warriors, tough as nails and always ready to take punishment in order to give some, and they also both had good (often underrated) boxing skills, mainly offensively. Both were great bodypunchers. It also seems like both men are finally retired, despite frequent comeback rumours.


Jirov was the man at CW and consistently broke down his opponents with relentless pressure. It had to take an ATG like James Toney to stop his run (remember their all-out war back in 2003, now that was a classic fight). If it hadn't been for the master boxer James Toney, Jirov would most likely have stayed at CW, and there would probably never have been a Bell, Mormeck or Haye as CW champs. Coincidentally, it was also his losing effort against Toney that became the defining moment of his pro career and really put him in the spotlight of the boxing world. Like Toney, Jirov eventually moved up to HW (he wanted to chase Toney for a rematch), and also like Toney, Jirov had mixed results there. He was on the verge of stopping Joe Mesi and got knocked out by old Michael Moorer in a fight he was winning. While he was competitive, it was obvious that HW wasn't his division – his aggressive style didn't suit with the bigger and stronger HWs. His comeback at CW seems to have fizzled out, he's probably shot now after all these wars...


Polish Dariusz Michalczewski was arguably the second best LHW of his era (behind Roy Jones jr. of course). DM got criticized for refusing to travel to the USA in order to face RJJ while feasting upon Roys victims in Germany (Hill, Griffin, Harmon, Hall...), but we shouldn't forget that these were still good fighters and DM beat them clearly. Of course his first fight with Graciano Roccighiani had a scandalous outcome, Rocky got jobbed that night; but then again Rocky was the best german fighter of the 90s IMO, together with Maske (and better than the protected Ottke), and DM beat him in the rematch. DM was certainly not just another 'euro-bum', he'd have been one of very few fighters to at least have a small chance at beating superman Roy Jones at the time (as an underdog of course), and it's a shame that fight never came off. DMs come forward fighting style took its toll on him early, but he kept winning his fights. His SD loss to Gonzalez was controversial, and one of the very few times the hometown fighter didn't get favoured in a close fight in Germany. In his comeback fight against Tiozzo it was obvious that DM was only a shadow of his former self.


What are your thoughts about these two HOFers? Who's the better Tiger and why? Also, who would have won if these two faced each other at CW in let's say 2000? (I don't think DM would've had a problem fighting at CW, he even held the WBO belt in that division earlier in his career).

 

Well, I think they both could've accomplished more. If DM had been ready to travel to the US for some big fights (Roy Jones), and if Jirov didn't move up to the HW division and cleaned out the CW division instead.
However, I don't think they retired too early. Both men took a lot of punishment in their careers and were over the hill in their last fights.

 

Jirov was the man at CW after Gomez moved up to HW in 2002. Of course he wasn't undisputed (no CW has been since Evander Holyfield) and his opposition wasn't always top notch, but he was above Mormeck, Bell and Braitwaithe.

 

DM is broke, he wanted to have another comeback fight only last year, a grudge match against Rocky, and after that fell thru, a fight against Ottke, and he wanted 1.000.000€ for it... fortunately nobody was willing to put the money on the table to stage this (at this point) useless fight...